Welker: Belichick was hard on him

The Sports Xchange

The SportsXchange•August 8, 2013

Denver Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker said in this week's issue of Sports Illustrated that part of the reason he left the New England Patriots was because of coach Bill Belichick. Welker signed a free agent contract with the Broncos in the offseason. Welker said that Belichick "got on him in a way he never had before, admonishing him in front of the team. ... "It was just kind of hard. One of those deals where you have to endure him, put up with him. ... But he does it to everybody, it's the way he is." The forthright Welker said Patriots players are required to be evasive with reporters because it is part of Belichick's media policy. "When I'm answering questions from the Denver media, I'm not worried about what the Broncos' people are going to think," Welker said. "I'm worried about what Belichick will think. Isn't that crazy?" Welker said that quarterback Tom Brady is also very demanding. "He was very intense, wanted it done a certain way and was like, 'You can't do it a different way,' " Welker said. Now, he is adjusting to Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. "In New England, if the middle of the field was closed, I'd run a seam route," Welker said. "It's something I've been doing for six years now, so I have to teach my brain to do it the way (Manning is) expecting me to do it. At the end of the day you run it the way he wants it, or he won't throw it to you." Welker will face Belichick and his old team when the Broncos travel to New England on Nov. 24.